Courts and the Legal System Fundamental to stronger communities is a modern legal framework which commands public confidence

and protects people from unfair treatment by the state, by businesses or by other people. Scotland has its own justice system which is built on traditional values of integrity and fairness, but society has changed over the last two decades. Scotland needs modern justice institutions that have the capacity and flexibility to respond to those changes - while retaining the values on which its reputation has been built. In 2011 we launched the Making Justice Work programme to pull together a range of current and potential reforms to the structure and processes of the justice system, access to justice and alternatives to court.

Civil Courts Civil Law covers many areas including buying and selling houses, marriage and family law, debt and executries. Courts and tribunals can be used to resolve disputes. Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland, based in Edinburgh. The Court of Session is both a court at first instance for initial consideration of cases and the court of appeal for most civil matters, although Sheriffs Principal can also hear appeals at local level as an alternative. The jurisdiction of the Court of Session (ie the civil matters it deals with) as a court of first instance is broadly the same as the jurisdiction of the sheriff court although there are some matters that can be raised only in the Court of Session - judicial review of decisions by administrative authorities is an example. Decisions of the Court of Session in appeals are subject to ultimate appeal to the House of Lords. Sheriff Court The Sheriff Court is the local court and there are 49 sheriff courts across Scotland. The sheriff courts deal with the majority of civil cases although, as noted above, its jurisdiction at first instance is broadly the same as the Court of Session. Civil matters dealt with in the sheriff court include debt, claims for compensation, contract disputes, family matters such as divorce, eviction, anti-social behaviour and various applications under statutes concerned with matters such as licensing, bankruptcy and steps relating to enforcement of debt. There are other minor civil court for specialist areas such as the Land Court for dealing with crofting issues. Justice of the Peace Courts A Justice of the Peace (JP) Court is a lay court where a Justice of the Peace, who is not legally qualified, sits with a legally qualified court officer. JP Courts were created by the Criminal Proceeding etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 and they replaced former District Courts which were operated by local authorities. Details of where JP Courts are located can be found on the Scottish Court Service website. Tribunals Tribunals also sit in Scotland, covering a wide range of subjects including employment, education, children's hearings, social security and tax. These tribunals sit in various locations across Scotland, though most cases are heard in the major centres of population, principally Edinburgh and Glasgow. Most of the tribunals are supervised by the Scottish Committee of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, whose statutory role is to keep under review the constitution and working of tribunals operating in Scotland. Further information on Tribunals is contained in the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council website. The tribunal system in Scotland has been subject to review over recent years and the Scottish Government is now pursuing a programme of tribunal reform. More information on the courts and court procedures is available at the Scottish Courts website. Officers of Court - Designation of a Professional Association - A Consultation The Scottish Government issued a consultation about the designation of a professional association for officers of court as provided for under section 63 of the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Act 2007. These provisions have been refreshed and updated by the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The professional association will be designated in regulations which may also contain provisions relating to the functions, constitution and procedures of the professional association.

As a prerequisite to holding a commission as an officer of court, an individual will in future have to be a member of the professional association - the new regulations will therefore make membership of the designated professional association compulsory. Scope of this consultation The Scottish Ministers consulted with the Lord President, Sheriffs Principal, representatives of the professional association or proposed professional association and such other bodies or persons who appear to the Scottish Minister to have an interest. This consultation covers Scotland only. The Consultation ended on 30 November 2010. An analysis of the consultation responses has been completed and the anaysis report has now been published. Crimes and Crime Prevention Many lives have been spoiled by the fear of crime, by lack of opportunity, by feeling cut off from services and facilities, and by the effects of drink, drugs and deprivation. Making Scotland a safer and stronger place means developing a coherent penal policy which is tough on serious crime, offers swift justice and community payback. The Scottish Government firmly believes that prevention is better than cure and is working to tackle the underlying causes of crime.

Crimes and Crime Prevention Antisocial Behaviour Counter Terrorism Drugs Forced Marriage Hate Crime Human Trafficking Knife Crime Pornography Prostitution Reducing Reoffending Serious organised crime Sex Offences Stalking and Harassment Firearms Young People Scots Law - Criminal Courts and Procedure There are two types of criminal procedure - solemn and summary. A solemn procedure trial in both the High Court and the Sheriff Court is held before a judge sitting with a jury of 15 people. In summary procedure, a trial is held in Sheriff or Justice of the Peace Courts before a judge without a jury. The Lord Advocate or her local representative, the Procurator Fiscal, prosecutes cases in each criminal court on behalf of the public. The police do not prosecute and private individuals can only prosecute in very rare circumstances. Solemn procedure Solemn procedure covers the most serious cases. It involves trial on indictment before a judge or sheriff sitting with a jury. A Scottish jury is made up of 15 people and a simple majority (8-7) is sufficient to establish guilt or innocence. Three verdicts are available to the jury: guilty, not guilty, or not proven. A not proven verdict is the equivalent of not guilty in that it is an acquittal. Criminal Justice and Parole Division deals with policy on solemn criminal procedure matters and took forward the passing and implementation of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2004 - which reformed the operation of the solemn courts. Further work is currently underway to reform sheriff and jury procedure.

That 2004 Act originated from Lord Bonomy's report Improving Practice - The 2002 Review Of The Practices And Procedure Of The High Court Of Justiciary. Summary procedure Summary procedure covers less serious cases involving a trial where there is no jury - either a sheriff sitting alone, a stipendiary magistrate sitting alone, a justice of the peace sitting alone, or a bench of 3 justices of the peace sitting together. Criminal Justice and Parole Division also has policy responsibility for summary criminal procedure and they led a programme of summary justice reforms, which were implemented using provisions contained in the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.